TY - JOUR
T1 - Regional characteristics of esophageal cancer and robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE)
T2 - an analysis of the international UGIRA registry
AU - Suzuki, Yota
AU - Sarkaria, Inderpal S
AU - Kim, Sangmin
AU - Awais, Omar
AU - van Hillegersberg, Richard
AU - Ruurda, Jelle
AU - Chao, Yin K
AU - Grimminger, Peter
AU - Li, Zhigang
AU - Li, Chunguang
AU - Yuan, Chang
AU - Hölzen, Jens-Peter
AU - Juratli, Mazen A
AU - Pascher, Andreas
AU - Fuchs, Hans F
AU - Bruns, Christiane J
AU - Bellaio, Luca
AU - Lozanovski, Vladimir
AU - Fujita, Takeo
AU - van Det, Marc J
AU - Kouwenhoven, Ewout A
AU - Haveman, Jan W
AU - van Etten, Boudewijn
AU - Gisbertz, Suzanne S
AU - van Berge Henegouwen, Mark I
AU - van Boxel, Gijs I
AU - Straatman, Jennifer
AU - Nilsson, Magnus
AU - Rouvelas, Ioannis
AU - Mala, Tom
AU - Førland, Dag T
AU - Benedix, Frank
AU - Lorenz, Eric
AU - Rouanet, Philippe
AU - Mourregot, Anne
AU - Immanuel, Arul
AU - Giacopuzzi, Simone
AU - Preston, Shaun R
AU - Daiko, Hiroyuki
AU - Müller, Beat P
AU - Babic, Benjamin
AU - Beyer, Katharina
AU - Semaan, Alexander
AU - Jarosciakova, Silvia
AU - Li, Hecheng
AU - Strignano, Paolo
AU - Piessen, Guillaume
AU - Chiu, Philip W
AU - Milone, Marco
AU - Egberts, Jan-Hendrik
AU - Sallum, Rubens A A
AU - Ferrari, Giovanni
AU - Luketich, James D
AU - Alicuben, Evan T
N1 - © The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact [email protected].
PY - 2026/4
Y1 - 2026/4
N2 - Esophageal cancer is a global burden, and multiple international societies exist to address the issue in international collaboration. This study aims to analyze the characteristics of esophageal cancer and robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) across geographic areas. We performed a retrospective analysis of the Upper GI International Robotic Association (UGIRA) international database from January 2016 to April 2024. Forty centers worldwide that were known to perform RAMIE were involved in establishing this consortium. The patient characteristics, surgical techniques, and short-term outcomes of RAMIE were compared by each regional area (Europe, Asia, North America, and South America). A total of 3,916 RAMIE cases were registered in the UGIRA database (2,643 in Europe, 1,130 in Asia, 111 in North America, and 32 in South America). The median age was 66 years, and 80.5% of patients were male. Notably, Asia had a high prevalence of squamous cell carcinoma (91.2%) and predominant use of the McKeown approach (94.9%). BMI was lower in Asia, whereas comorbidities were more common in Western countries across all types. The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation was lower in Asia (48.2% and 20.8 %, respectively). Postoperative complications also differed by region; pneumonia was most common in Europe and South America, cardiopulmonary complications in North America, and recurrent nerve injury in Asia. In conclusion, regional differences were observed in baseline characteristics, treatment approaches, and complication patterns in patients treated by RAMIE for esophageal cancer. Recognizing these variations is essential for fostering mutual understanding and advancing the field through international collaboration.
AB - Esophageal cancer is a global burden, and multiple international societies exist to address the issue in international collaboration. This study aims to analyze the characteristics of esophageal cancer and robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) across geographic areas. We performed a retrospective analysis of the Upper GI International Robotic Association (UGIRA) international database from January 2016 to April 2024. Forty centers worldwide that were known to perform RAMIE were involved in establishing this consortium. The patient characteristics, surgical techniques, and short-term outcomes of RAMIE were compared by each regional area (Europe, Asia, North America, and South America). A total of 3,916 RAMIE cases were registered in the UGIRA database (2,643 in Europe, 1,130 in Asia, 111 in North America, and 32 in South America). The median age was 66 years, and 80.5% of patients were male. Notably, Asia had a high prevalence of squamous cell carcinoma (91.2%) and predominant use of the McKeown approach (94.9%). BMI was lower in Asia, whereas comorbidities were more common in Western countries across all types. The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation was lower in Asia (48.2% and 20.8 %, respectively). Postoperative complications also differed by region; pneumonia was most common in Europe and South America, cardiopulmonary complications in North America, and recurrent nerve injury in Asia. In conclusion, regional differences were observed in baseline characteristics, treatment approaches, and complication patterns in patients treated by RAMIE for esophageal cancer. Recognizing these variations is essential for fostering mutual understanding and advancing the field through international collaboration.
KW - Humans
KW - Esophageal Neoplasms/surgery
KW - Esophagectomy/methods
KW - Male
KW - Robotic Surgical Procedures/statistics & numerical data
KW - Female
KW - Aged
KW - Retrospective Studies
KW - Registries
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Asia/epidemiology
KW - Europe/epidemiology
KW - North America/epidemiology
KW - South America/epidemiology
KW - Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures/methods
KW - Treatment Outcome
KW - Postoperative Complications/epidemiology
U2 - 10.1093/dote/doag042
DO - 10.1093/dote/doag042
M3 - Article
C2 - 42059585
SN - 1120-8694
VL - 39
JO - Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus
JF - Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus
IS - 2
M1 - doag042
ER -